Judgment Day Looks at Manga!
It’s been a while but Judgment Day is back with a look at two new titles from TokyoPop, the leader in Manga!
Dark Metro Vol. 1, Written by Tokyp Calen; Art by Yoshiken
Dark Metro is a horror anthology title presenting five stories in its 200 pages and while the stories are separate, they all take place in the Tokyo underground subway stations. Underneath the city lies a dark world inhabited by malicious spirits, just waiting for an unsuspecting victim to stray too close. The stories are tied together by a mysterious young man named Seiya who tries to help those who have unwittingly entered this terrifying underworld.
The five chapters are each named after a different subway station. The opening tale, “Ginza”, is the best in the first volume. A dancer named Anna is heading home but misses the last train. Making matters even worse is that someone has locked her in the station and she’s virtually trapped. Soon Anna is on the run from a terrifying spirit who wants her soul.
In “Shibuya” an attractive woman invites a group of high school pimps to a rave party in the train station. She promises lots of her friends will be there as well. One of the boys begins receiving text messages on his cell phone, warning him to leave before it’s too late. Will he leave or will he suffer the same grisly fate that awaits his friends?
“Ikebukuro” finds Aoshima-Kun on his first day of work as a new train operator. The other operators tell him about the ghosts that haunt the subway but he thinks they are just trying to scare him… until he encounters something that causes him to doubt his own sanity.
Tokyo Calen has managed to grasp on to the feel of Asian horror films with his stories. There is some gore but largely the stories work on the strength of the setting, the suspense, and the brisk pace. He serves up five ghastly tales in the best tradition of gothic ghost stories with a modern slant. Yoshiken’s art is the perfect complement. His style is less cartoony than most Manga art and has a stronger look of realism. This book came as a pleasant surprise. If you’re looking for a solid Manga horror title, than look no further than Dark Metro! Grade B+
Rose Hip Rose vol. 1, Story and art by Tohru Fujisawa
Shohei Aiba will deny that he’s a pervert but he and his friends practice of taking upskirt pictures of women on the subway seems to suggest otherwise. One day he pick the wrong girl’s privacy to invade. Shohei soon finds himself on the run from the quick and acrobatic girl who threatens to turn him into the authorities. Escaping, imagine his surprise when the very same girl shows up in his school the next day. The new girl, Kasumi Asakura, soon makes his life a living Hell, threatening to expose his subway activities to the rest of the school.
Kasumi hides a secret of her own. She is in reality the police’s secret assault team expert known as Rose Hip Rose. While she may be a teenager, Kasumi is highly skilled and she is soon called upon to track down a vicious serial killer who murders only blonde women. This killer is determined not to get caught and he doesn’t care who he has to kill to evade capture. This all leads to a final blowout battle between the killer and Kasumi. This is the bombastic sequel to Rose Hip Zero and what starts out as an action comedy, soon turns quite serious as Rose goes after the violent killer and has to keep Shohei out of the line of fire. Hits on all cylinders as comedy, action, and drama. The art is gorgeous as well. Grade A-
